National Lampoon’s Animal House turned 45 this year, and while the comedy classic might still be an iconic film for certain generations, it seems like the references and jokes within haven’t stood the test of time for everyone.
ESPN NFL reporter Jeff Darlington was among the Bristol crew that made their way to Frankfurt, Germany this weekend for the AFC battle between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs.
The showdown between two potential Super Bowl contenders didn’t materialize as hoped as the Dolphins got off to a pretty bad start, trailing 21-0 at halftime. While they were able to make it a game in the second half, it wasn’t enough to overcome the early issues and they lost 21-14.
Before that, however, Darlington shared his thoughts on X, tying in the Germany location with a movie reference that he assumed would go over pretty well.
A mere history lesson here in Germany should provide the Dolphins all the hope they need in the second half.
After all… Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor??
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) November 5, 2023
“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor,” is the most memorable line from a speech given by the dim-witted John “Bluto” Blutarsky to motivate his fellow frat brothers in a fight against the evil Dean Wormer in Animal House. It’s one of those movie quotes that seemingly infiltrated pop culture so thoroughly that people who have never even seen the movie have probably come across it at some point in their lives.
Or so Darlington thought. He spent the next few hours fending off critics who thought him to be a moron for conflating the actions of Japan and Germany during World War II.
https://twitter.com/DMRussini/status/1721198863015440532
Dumbass analyst thinks the germans bombed pearl harbor https://t.co/LGdLOnYKLn
— Zach (@LockedInMiami) November 5, 2023
https://twitter.com/CookedByTua/status/1721198821865320534
Germans?
— Richardactor (@RichardActor17) November 5, 2023
So Jeff, history lesson: it wasn't the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor…
— Petter (Thin white duke remix) (@peather) November 5, 2023
Germany did not get Pearl Harbor……that was Japan…#LearnUSHistory
— Sravan Gannavarapu (@SravanGNews) November 5, 2023
Thankfully, plenty of people did indeed get the reference and revel in the reality that there were way too many angry X users out there over a dumb movie quote.
https://twitter.com/antwanstaley/status/1721199723103560131
I think this tweet should be a test for people using social media. If you're not old enough or too stupid to get this reference, you shouldn't be allowed on the internet unsupervised. https://t.co/D88OfKlF7f
— Becky Hammon, Hall of Famer (@kneary22) November 5, 2023
https://twitter.com/Marcel_LJ/status/1721198501831319920
https://twitter.com/tha_buffalo/status/1721199134030414288
Not anymore. In fact, it seems to have faded from most sports team’s in-house entertainment. It must mean we’re getting old. Or… just old.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) November 5, 2023
Let that be a lesson to all sportswriters and reporters, use movie references from before 1990 on social media at your peril.
